Now that I’ve blown your mind with that hyper-obvious statement, we can continue.

Kessel is great. He’s tallied 45 points in 48 games (though he is just coming off a nine-point, 15-game stretch) and since he joined the Leafs in 2009, only 19 players have more points and only four have more goals. And he’s done that largely without the benefit of what people would agree is a first line center, playing 2,770 of his 4,265 even strength minutes with Tyler Bozak (and less than 415 minutes with any other pivot).

When Bozak was extended this offseason, the crux of the argument against him was that playing with Kessel inflated his numbers, which is undeniable (current piping-hot-streak notwtihstanding, I guess). But I’ve become curious of late just how important Kessel is in bringing up the play of his teammates.

The Isotopes win a road game in regulation! The Isotopes win a road game in regulation! The Isotopes win a road game in regulation!

The Toronto Maple Leafs had two opponents Tuesday night: the Boston Bruins, and a very stubborn clock that just couldn't tick down fast enough in the final seconds. Despite being down twice in the first period, the Leafs came back and stuck to their gameplan—they got goals on the powerplay, saddled onto Jonathan Bernier's back and held on as he giddy-upped across the finish line.

Toronto won 4-3. Bernier put together his second consecutive strong start, the game was entertaining, nerve-racking and physical, and Tyler Bozak stayed hotter than a cute girl mowing down suicide wings. Recap below.

Leafs fans celebrating on Yonge St. after the team's last regulation win on the road

Back to the grind…

We're in that time of year where we have to predict records for what the Leafs need to finish with to make the playoffs. I had 18-14-4 before Sunday's game but I guess now it would be 17-14-4, but probably closer to 18-14-2 because I don't like the Leafs' chances of making the playoffs without getting a few more regulation or overtime wins here or there. Remember, that's the first tiebreaker after games played and I'm not sure how feasible it is that Toronto can pass any team in ROW between now and the end of the year. They're tied with Washington, but five back of Detroit, and five is an awfully big number at this level.

But more importantly, just win in regulation more so we can stop talking about it. The Leafs are 12-20 in regulation after beginning the year not just 6-1 overall, but 8-4 in regulation. That means they're 4-16 in games decided after 60 minutes since the start of November. Ugh, be better so we don't have to talk about how bad you are. Team is in Boston tonight, EXACTLY what the doctor ordered.